Gov. continues business as usual

Illinois House members move ahead on the possible impeachment of Gov. Rod Blagojevich. The state's second in command works on a transition he says would be "seamless" in the event he is called in to replace the embattled governor.

Quinn says he has not spoken with the governor in more than a year.

Last Friday, Blagojevich said he would not step down from office and he promised to fight corruption charges. He was back in the office on Monday.

Meanwhile, the panel looking at a possible impeachment adds up the price tag members say the pay-to-play culture may have cost Illinois.

"Just the few leases in the last few months would have cost the people of the state of Illinois, if we had approved them, over $6 million, said Ed Bedore, state procurement board.

One of the members of the board that oversees state contracts told the House impeachment committee in Springfield on Monday that if the board hadn't objected to the alleged pay-to-play politics of the Blagojevich administration three recent contracts with inflated price-tags would have cost taxpayers 6 million unnecessary dollars. That includes a lease on a building in Harvey owned by someone who's contributed $50,000 to the governor's campaigns.

"Maybe some day we can step back and add all of that together. The one thing I think we cannot calculate is what is the cost to public confidence of all of this," said Cindi Canary, Campaign for Governor Reform.

The concept of pay-to-play prompted a parody in front of WGN Radio on Monday morning where they sold chances to throw shoes at a cardboard cut-out of the governor at three-for a dollar.

Meanwhile, the Illinois Republican Party is borrowing the music from a Bob Dylan song entitled "The Mighty Quinn" on Monday in a new web ad that accuses the lieutenant governor of flip-flopping on whether Rod Blagojevich is a good or a bad governor.

While Quinn himself is quietly assembling a transition team of friends and associates so he'll be ready to step in if Blagojevich resigns or gets impeached.

"I want to make sure the people of Illinois know that our government will go forward without any kind of interruption. The government belongs to the people and the people will prevail," said Quinn.

The impeachment committee in Springfield has adjourned until next Monday when the governor's attorney, Ed Jensen, will be questioning his witnesses, after Patrick Fitzgerald tells both sides.